Ms. Rachel is standing up for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is continuing to face demands that he not show up at Ground Zero on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Without directly mentioning 9/11, the famed YouTube personality (whose real name is Rachel Griffin-Accurso) shared a post to Instagram on Thursday, September 10, that had nothing but nice things to say about the politician.
“Mayor Mamdani is awesome,” Ms. Rachel, 43, said, adding that she’s met the 34-year-old mayor and can see that “he truly cares about New Yorkers.”
“He’s such a kind, gentle soul,” she continued, adding an emoji with watery eyes. “Our NYC Pre-K curriculum teaches children to be kind, respect different religions and cultures, and be proud of who they are.”
“It’s unacceptable that adults still judge, hate and attack each other because of religion or skin color,” she wrote. “We should be setting a better example for our children.”
In the caption of Ms. Rachel’s post, she added, “Also so disappointing to see some Christians expressing hate and Islamophobia. Jesus was Jewish and he taught us in the Good Samaritan parable that our neighbors are not just those who share our religion.”
In recent weeks, Mamdani has taken a lot of heat in regards to his prior comments about 9/11 as well as his personal affiliations.
In 2023, Mamdani looked back at that fateful day in American history and wrote in a post on X, “Nearly 3,000 New Yorkers died on 9/11; 22 years later, the death hasn’t stopped.”
“We mourn our neighbors who died that day,” he added. “The hundreds of thousands who died in the wars that followed. The unknown millions injured & displaced. In their memory, we work toward a better world.”
However, some people online were taken aback by his use of the word died, when the people in the United States were murdered. Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda hijacked multiple airplanes and attacked the U.S., killing 2,977 people and injuring thousands more. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in history.
A petition was started to try and keep Mamdani from attending the ceremony.
According to Fox, Mamdani previously engaged with internet personality Hasan Piker, who in 2019 said, “America deserved 9/11” (though Mamdani later called the remarks “objectionable and reprehensible”).
Mamdani also appointed Ramzi Kassem as the city’s chief legal counsel. Per ABC 7, Kassem once represented an al-Qaeda member whose brother-in-law was among the terrorists who hijacked the plane that struck the Pentagon.
Earlier this week, family members of people who died in the 2001 attacks gathered on the steps of City Hall to ask the mayor not to come.
Despite the attempt to ban Mamdani, the former state assemblyman has made it clear that he will be in attendance.
“I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration, reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home and, frankly, by all of us who call this country home,” Mamdani told CBS News New York‘s Marcia Kramer in July.
This story Ms. Rachel Stands Up for ‘Awesome’ NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Amid Calls to Skip 9/11 Memorial first appeared on InTouch Weekly. Follow InTouch Weekly on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.